An estimated 50,000 Irish racing fans will be making their way to Cheltenham this week for the return of live crowds to the Festival for the first time in two years.
There should be plenty to cheer with Irish horses expected to go well in most of the races, and with Honeysuckle, ridden by Rachael Blackmore, looking to lead the way in the Champion Hurdle, the feature race of the opening day on Tuesday.
Irish trainers, jockeys, owners and punters will be to the fore but so too with Irish companies who are responsible for sponsoring six of the races that will be staged including four on St Patrick’s Day.
The latest addition to the roster is the Craft Irish Whiskey Co, the creator of the most expensive whiskey in the world, who have come on board as the new sponsor of the Festival Plate Handicap Chase on Day Three of The Festival.
The sponsorship represents the first partnership between The Jockey Club and The Craft Irish Whiskey Co with the company committing to an initial two-year deal
This St. Patrick’s Day, the company will release its fourth and latest rare release whiskey, The Taoscán, the world’s first tawny port and French chestnut whiskey, with bottles going on sale in exclusive venues in Ireland and the UK and pre-orders opening online.
The winner of The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. Plate will also be presented with a rare collector’s edition of The Taoscán, which retails at €1200.
“This race sponsorship is the perfect partnership for The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.,” said Managing Director Ian Duignan.
“Cheltenham is such an important sporting occasion for the Irish with passions running high on each day of the festival. There is a great synergy with the passion from all the Irish that attend the festival and what we stand for as a brand.”
“Everything we do is born out of passion and pursuit of perfection and as a proud Irish company, we could not think of a better partnership or a better day to proudly display our name. Business matters aside, I’m also a huge racing fan so sponsoring one of the most prestigious and competitive races at Cheltenham is a personal honour for me.”
“We are delighted to welcome The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. as the new sponsor of the Plate Handicap,” added Jack Royle, Head of Partnerships for The Jockey Club.
“Fittingly, the 2022 running takes place on St Patrick’s Day. Hopefully, this will enable this new partnership to begin on a high and we look forward to working with The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. going forward.”
The race was won last year by the well-backed Emmet Mullins-trained, The Shunter in fine style – one of the unprecedented 23 winners at last year’s meeting that were trained in Ireland.
Ryanair sponsors two of the races on St Patrick’s Day and they are joined by Paddy Power who sponsor one each on Thursday and Friday and Ballymore who sponsor the opening race on the Wednesday.
The Festival will be shown live in Ireland on Virgin Media throughout the week.
